Northeast Desk, 12th April: The Government of Manipur, in accordance with Secretariat General Administrative Department Order No. ESTT-301/3/2024-GAD-GAD dated April 8, 2024, has declared the election days of April 19, 2024 (1st phase) and April 26, 2024 (2nd phase) as paid holidays for all employees in commercial and industrial establishments in the private sector.
This directive applies to businesses operating within the areas of the 47 Assembly Constituencies scheduled for the 1st phase and the 13 Assembly Constituencies for the 2nd phase of the General elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, 2024. The sectors covered include shops, hotels, restaurants, workshops, educational institutions, printing press, newspaper establishments, training institutions, financial institutions, and Motor Transport Undertakings, among others.
According to Section 135B of the Representations of the People Act, 1951, no deduction of wages shall occur for these poll days. The order specifies that if a holiday had been granted to a person without payment of wages, they shall nonetheless be paid in full for the poll day, equivalent to the wages they would have earned if not for the holiday.
Additionally, employers of commercial and industrial establishments in the private sector are mandated to grant leave of absence with full wages to employees who are electors/voters of the respective Assembly Constituencies but are working elsewhere. This provision ensures that employees have the opportunity to cast their votes and exercise their right of franchise in the General Elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, 2024.
The notification underscores the government’s commitment to facilitating electoral participation and ensuring that employees are not disadvantaged or deprived of their wages on account of exercising their democratic rights.
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